On The Run
by ClothesBeam
Summary: Cloud and Zack's escape from the Shinra Mansion goes smoother than they could have hoped, given the circumstances. Cloud's recovery is freakishly quick, and his gain in strength terrifies even those who turned him into a weapon. Are they actually going to make it back to Midgar?
1. Chapter 1

Ari ran down the Shinra Mansion's corridor, trying to keep up with the man in front of her.

"Wait a minute, Johno!" Ari called crossly as her so-called supervisor continued to walk away. He entered the lab and she sprinted to catch up. That jerk still wasn't taking her internship seriously!

Before she could enter the room and continue her lecture, she heard a loud crack.

She saw Johno crash into the bench in the middle of the room. There was another crunch of bone and he slid to the ground, a dead weight.

And it wasn't just an expression, he was actually _dead_, Ari realised. She glanced at the black clad man, who had trails of bright green mako running over him. He turned his glowing eyes on her and she screamed and backed into the wall.

He dropped to his hands and knees and coughed up a glowing green lump. He staggered back to his feet and wiped his mouth. She knew there was no point in trying to run from one of these monstrous experiments.

The man ignored her, choosing instead to release his companion from the mako tube. The man grabbed his companion's shoulders and shook him. "Cloud?" he asked hoarsely, before coughing up more green goop. "Speak to me!" he demanded and released him. The blond one simply fell as Johno had earlier.

The dark haired guy felt his pulse then shook his shoulder, gentler this time. "Come on buddy, I know you're in there somewhere," he glanced around the room, then suddenly seemed to remember Ari was there. "Just a sec."

"W-wait! I know what's wrong with him! But it's not something that we can just fix overnight," she lied through her teeth.

"Well we're not staying here. You work on him on the move or I'll get rid of you," he said. She gulped and nodded. She had always learnt quickly, but she had come here to experience lab work, not maintain specimens.

"Ok, but I think we should stay here for a night or two," she carried on despite his menacing glare. "It's mako poisoning." Something any idiot could tell from here. "The fastest way to get it off him is to shower him. Since he's come this far in the testing, he must be tough. He'll sweat it out quickly, but will need to be showered every few hours, or it will just be reabsorbed. We can deal with the withdrawal symptoms when he's more conscious."

"Fine," he eventually agreed. "We'll stay in the mansion. But you will not leave my sight. If anyone else gets wind of this and we get cornered, you will be the first to go."

"Got it," she murmured and stood slowly. "I'll get spare clothes and bed sheets. We're going to need them," she said and nodded at the blond by way of explanation. She discretely grabbed the folders off the table that pertained to the subjects and their condition. Hopefully she would find useful information to fuel her bluff.

He hefted the massive sword that was lying on the ground onto his back. Ari had no idea where that had come from. He slung the blond's arm around his shoulders and followed her.

The younger man seemed to be stepping along with him, but wasn't supporting his own weight, or registering his surroundings. The pair followed Ari up the spiral staircase. She glanced through their files as she went, hoping the man behind her wouldn't realise why she was looking at them so closely.

Soon she learnt she had 1st Class SOLDIER operative Zack Fair and the next Sephiroth behind her. What she didn't understand was why she had been put here for work experience. Surely it was way too dangerous? But the Jenova cells explained why the one named Cloud Strife wasn't dead yet.

They stepped out into the bedroom the entrance to the basement was hidden in. There was an ensuite and spare linens in the cupboards. "Ok, erm, I believe there are spare Soldier uniforms in the bedroom at the end of the hall. You can both get changed into those after showering, I guess."

"Wait here a minute Cloud," Fair said to his comatose friend as he sat him upon the bed. "Come on, there's no way I'm leaving you alone," he said, indicating she should follow.

She nodded and took the lead up the hall. The monsters that lived here fought each other more than the human residents, so Shinra had basically told its scientists to suck it up. To her shock, a group of what Johno not-so-affectionately called 'Dorkys' began flying at the dark haired man. A sweep of the huge sword was enough to take them all out.

Ari shivered, wondering what she was playing at here. That would be her as soon as the other one woke up. Or as soon as he didn't wake up. Or as soon as she gave him reason to distrust her. She hugged the folders tightly and stepped into the room hurriedly.

"Don't worry, I can take care of them," he said, as though she should be more concerned about the monsters than him. "You live with these things or what?"

"_They_ don't try to attack me," she replied shortly as she unlocked the cupboard. She made sure she had at least three of each piece for each man, in a reasonable size, before closing it and going to the next one. Towels, flannels and for some reason the pillow cases were in there. She took it all, just in case.

"I can't take chances with the Shinra science department. There is no way either of us is getting back in those tanks. How many weeks has it been, anyway?"

"Since you were put in the tank?" At his nod she awkwardly flipped his file open with one hand. "You were admitted nearly four years ago."

Fair visibly blanched and snatched the folder, tearing it in two when he tried to open it up. "Four years of our lives, gone!? Why the hell did Shinra think we would still work for them once these experiments were done?"

"I-I don't know!" she cried, cringing away from the angry, frighteningly strong man. The glowing goop that was still spread over him wasn't helping with reducing the fear factor. This could have been taken straight from a horror film. "Maybe there's a reason Strife is in the state he is. I only got here last week, and I've only been with Shinra for three."

He paused and very carefully put the damaged folder back in her hands. "So you aren't involved in this? Why did you say you knew what was wrong with Cloud?"

She mentally slapped herself. "You would have killed me too, otherwise."

He hesitated and turned away, not denying it. "Let's go back. What if the monsters think Cloud is one of them too, and start attacking him?"

She nodded and followed. They quickly barricaded themselves in the bedroom before anything else could find them. She dropped everything from her overloaded arms onto the large desk in the corner of the room. Fair had Strife supported against him again. She tried to hand Fair a towel and a uniform for each of them.

"I said I'm not leaving you alone. I'm sure you have a panic button somewhere. Come into the bathroom and stay where I can see you," he said as they moved to the ensuite.

She sighed and complied. "If you try to watch me when it's my turn to shower, I'll beat you up."

He laughed, too loudly, as he nudged the door open. "I'd like to see that!" He became more serious. "But unless you have an implant, I think I can allow you that much privacy."

Ari turned the light and fan on behind them, and put the towels and clothes within their reach. Fair put the blond down and stripped off his mako soaked clothes. Ari glanced away politely. Her fellow female scientists had joked she would soon get used to seeing naked, attractive men, but three weeks wasn't enough to make her completely apathetic.

She toed the laundry basket in his direction, and the slap of wet clothes against the plastic indicated he was making good use of it. A few more heavy slaps, and they both stepped into the shower. Fair didn't bother drawing the curtain. Ari sat on the stool and began going through Strife's folder more closely.

She found a draft of his recovery plan and was glad to see her guesses and common sense had mostly been correct. As for what she could make out from Fair's folder, he was a lot tougher than they had given him credit for. The fact he was alive, let alone conscious, was amazing in itself.

The water was shut off and she threw the towels in their direction without looking up. "There was some truth to my earlier bullshitting. We should stay here as long as it's safe, so we can shower him every three or four hours."

"Well I feel fantastic now. How about you Cloud?" He smiled tightly at the complete lack of response. "I'll take that as: yes, thanks Zack."

He spread a towel on the floor and sat Cloud on it. He immediately flopped back against the bathroom cupboard. Zack got changed before beginning the difficult task of clothing an unconscious person.

"So, you probably know everything about me after reading that. What's your name?" He winced when Cloud's head fell back against the cupboard with a solid thump. "Sorry Cloudy, wasn't paying attention." The blonde man's brow twitched slightly before his blank expression returned.

"I'm Ari," she replied, seeing no need to elaborate. "There's probably no point in dressing him in more than a towel. They're easier to wash, too."

"True. Oh don't worry, you'll be in bed anyway. Perfectly modest," he said as he stood and returned him to the bedroom.

Once Strife was tucked in, Fair leaned against the doorway between the bedroom and the ensuite and closed his eyes. Ari stood still, unsure whether she should move.

Fair opened his eyes and frowned at her. "Look, I'm sorry about earlier. I am not getting back in that tank, so I'll be cautious around you for a while, but I don't normally run around killing my housemates." He glanced at Cloud, glad to see his chest was rising and falling more steadily. "I have to look after my little buddy too."

Strife's brow crumpled again briefly.

"You can't deny your shortness," Zack teased, but there was no response at all this time.

"He should start regaining consciousness in a few days, and full motor function within a few weeks," Ari explained based on what she had read.

Fair tensed, then his stomach growled loud enough for Ari to hear from the other side of the room.

They both laughed, trying to relieve the tension between them. But Ari couldn't stop thinking about Johno's dead body. He hadn't been here that much longer than her, only 8 months or something, but she didn't have the heart to tell this Zack guy that. "Let's go find something to eat."

They walked down the hall and down the stairs into the dining room. They went downstairs again into the kitchen and cellar area, where they encountered a new group of enemies. Again, Zack disposed of them easily, and again they only attacked him.

"Guhhh, why am I such a freak?" he complained.

Thankfully they had been resupplied recently, so they had everything available, including fresh fruit and vegetables. "I'll make a smoothie for Strife," she said as she opened the fridge. "I don't know if he'll even stomach anything today, but I can't just give him nothing."

"Let's all go for that then. I'd rather get back to Cloud as soon as possible. If these enemies think I'm one of them, I don't want to know what they think about him," Fair replied, standing vigil in the doorway.

In the end Cloud was about as receptive to food as Zack was to Shinra employees. "Eh, you'll be fine til tomorrow. If you're anything like me, your guts is full of mako."

An awkward silence played out as Ari wasn't sure what she could do and Zack wasn't sure what he should let her do. "Look, if I don't send Johno's usual daily report, they're going to get suspicious before the end of the week."

His eyes widened. "I didn't even think of that. I'm terrible with taking prisoners. Always the hero, that's me," he muttered bitterly.

"I'll show it to you before I send anything," she offered.

He turned to the secret corridor contemplatively. "No, forget it. I can't just sit around here for three or so weeks, worrying whether you're speaking in code. We'll leave once Cloud is more conscious, and you'll never have to see us again."

Ari nodded, relieved she wouldn't be in danger anymore, but also worried she could get fired - or worse - over this. "All right then," she said. "Guess we'd better get a few fold out beds in here."

* * *

"Oh come on Cloud," Zack sighed, bringing the glass up to his mouth again.

Cloud shook his head weakly, and opened his mouth as if trying to speak. He brought his hand up to cover his mouth, and Zack thought he finally understood what he was saying. He carried him to the bathroom and let him rest over the toilet bowl.

The blond man weakly gripped the rim and proceeded to throw his guts up. The toilet looked radioactive when he was done, and Zack patted his back encouragingly. "That's the way, out with the crap."

Cloud leant back against his legs when he was done, looking almost content.

"Better now? Should we head off tomorrow?" Zack was relieved when he was answered with a nod. Now this was progress!

He supported Cloud's weight as they moved back into the other room. This was their third day in the mansion, and they didn't intend to stay much longer no matter Cloud's condition. He didn't know where Ari was right now, and didn't particularly care. Shinra could search for them out here, and they would go back to the city and hide under their noses.

Zack got Cloud to drink the water this time, then followed up with the smoothie that had been sitting in the freezer the last few days.

He fell back against the pillows again, tired already. Zack hoped that had been the last of the excess mako, and that his recovery would be swift from here.

"Thanks, Zack," he said through a cracked throat.

"Oh good, you're finally talking to me again," he joked. "I'm gonna pack us some supplies into a vehicle, ok? I don't really trust Shinra to not put tracking devices in them, but I'll see what I can do."

Cloud smiled before passing out against the bed head again.

* * *

Ari sighed and turned back to Zack, lifting her safety glasses. "I can't get the tracking chip out, and it's attached to one of the fuel injectors. It won't run if we destroy it."

Zack folded his arms and frowned. He supposed they could make a break for it on a false trail, then ditch the car and hitchhike the rest of the way.

He whipped around as there was a bang and a cracking of plaster. Cloud groaned and extricated himself from the hole he had made in the wall after falling down the stairs. Zack laughed while Ari felt a sudden rise of terror. What else would he 'accidentally' destroy?

"Sorry," he mumbled, letting Zack put a hand around his shoulders and guide him to the car bonnet. "I've been thinking about what you said about the Shinra vehicle. Let me try and get the chip out."

"No offense buddy, but you'll probably break it," Zack said, concerned.

Cloud frowned and looked down. "Oh, it's one of the old setups. I had to reroute one of these outside of Junon once," he said, grabbing the chip and extracting it with a flick of his wrist. Half the pipe it was sitting on also tore away. "Of course it wasn't this easy without super strength."

He applied pressure to the metal, sectioning off the damaged pipe and ensuring no leakages, as if he were moulding clay.

"If you have some sort of tape it should hold together for several hundred Ks," he explained. Ari produced some from the back of the shed and they began finishing the dodgy job on the engine together.

Once they were done, Zack started it up and crowed in triumph. "All right Cloudy, you're a genius!"

Cloud sighed at the nickname and put the bonnet down. _Gently_.

"Ari, you sure you want to stay here? Shinra employees have a habit of vanishing after a disaster," Zack added, looking sincerely concerned.

She shrugged. "I'm just an intern who knows nothing about nothing. I think I'll take my chances."

"All right then, I guess this is goodbye. Good luck," Zack replied.

"Thank you," Cloud added, barely audible over the car's engine.

She suddenly felt sorry for both of them. Monstrous strength or no, the experiments hadn't even been informed let alone consensual. "Treat the car well, it wasn't intended for SOLDIER personnel of any rank." She used the panel to open the garage door for them. "And… you're welcome. Try not to hurt anyone else."

She eyed the sword taking up the back seat as they rolled out of the drive way. Zack's guilt-ridden posture made her feel a little bad for having said anything.

She watched them go and took a deep breath. This was the moment of truth. Now she would have to convincingly pretend they had broken free and taken off. She remembered Johno's body had been sitting in the basement for the past four or so days, and wondered how she could possibly spin this.


	2. Chapter 2

They pulled up some time after midnight and spread a shade cloth over the top and passenger side of the vehicle in an attempt to appear slightly less suspicious while parked in the middle of a wasteland. Zack wound down the window, taking a deep breath of cool night air.

"I need to walk around for a bit," Cloud complained quietly, raising his head to get more of the breeze.

"Well, we have just enough room out there between the roof and the ground for a squat contest," he joked, opening his door.

"You sound like you know that from experience."

"Oh trust me, I do!" he called as he moved to the back doors, opening them to grab some food and refill their water bottles.

Cloud crawled across to exit through the driver's door, nearly falling head long into the sand. He rolled into a crouch and rubbed his head. "Please tell me this vertigo is going to go within the next few days."

"Come here and I'll wash some mako sweat off you," Zack offered. They would have to abandon the car before they used up the water, so he wasn't too concerned about putting one of the massive canisters aside for washing.

Cloud took the damp cloth and wiped his face off. While Zack didn't mind drowning in his own sweat, he always had been and always would be a mountain boy.

Zack thoroughly rinsed the cloth while he shed his shirt. He turned around and he wiped over his shoulders and back. "Thanks."

Zack patted his shoulder as he went lower. "Man, the Jenova cells are really something. You got jacked just sitting in a tube."

Cloud turned his head, but looked off to the side in embarrassment. "Guess that's why I keep breaking things," he murmured bashfully. "Though I notice you haven't changed despite the four year coma either."

"Yep, still as hot as ever," he joked, but noticed Cloud's face turn red as he quickly looked away.

While he was technically at least 20 now, Zack reminded himself he was still mentally about 16. He turned away to rinse out the cloth again before handing it over. "No more glowy crap on this side, I'll leave you to it." He moved around the side of the vehicle, under the shade cloth. "Might want to do under your socks and pants too, let me know when you're done."

Zack found he didn't have to wait around for very long. Cloud poked his head around the corner while belting up his pants just a few minutes later. "The weather is kind of extreme here, now I'm freezing."

Zack stood with a smile. "We'll sleep in the car and shut the windows," he replied, digging around for all the non-perishable food they had taken. "Oh my god, they had mangoes?" he exclaimed, examining the tin excitedly. He had just emptied a cupboard into a few bags, but now he was thinking he should have been pickier.

"What else do you have? I'm starving," Cloud replied as he pulled his shirt on.

"Who cares? I haven't had these for years, and that was _before_ being thrown into the tank!" He grinned at his companion, who was now reaching past him to inspect the food himself. "Tinned isn't the best, but it's more than enough!"

"All right, meat," Cloud said, but looked somewhat disappointed it was just beef jerky. To them it didn't have a taste anymore, since they ate it every day when on assignments.

"You can have it," Zack said with a laugh, before pulling out another bag of tins. "Lucky those two only got resupplied once a month. This should all easily last us at least a week."

He pulled out some paper plates and plastic cutlery before they made their way back into the vehicle. They leant their seats back and Zack put his bare feet up on the dash as he ate some peas straight from the can. He sighed and put it down, staring up at the sliver of the night sky they could see through the windscreen.

"It's not much, but better enjoy this freedom Cloudy. I get a feeling it's not going to last long."

He nodded, scooping his soggy metallic food into his mouth. "I am."

* * *

Ari screamed through the gag as the red-headed bastard threw her against the wall of the holding cell. She shut her eyes tightly as she slid down the wall, attempting to ignore the pain. She gasped as she was booted in the ribs.

Like he would make it that easy.

He grabbed her by her hair and wrenched her face up so he could remove the soggy gag. "So then, you feeling chatty yet?"

Given that he had just finished beating the shit out of her, his grin was extremely disconcerting. "Strangely, no," she replied, trying to not throw up.

She'd seen interrogation techniques in movies, but she'd never thought anyone would try to play good cop and bad cop at the same damn time.

"What, why not?" he exclaimed, seeming to enjoy her smartass replies.

"I hate you," she spat.

"That as it may be, but it's not helping us find our dear Doc's specimens."

"Those freaks killed my co-worker in front of my eyes then made their great escape. What else is there to tell?"

He turned away from her slightly, pretending to ponder. "Hmm, let me see. Why his body was five days old when they only left the mansion yesterday? Why the water consumption over the last four days was abnormally high?" He bent down again to look her in the eye. "How stupid do you think we are?"

"You personally, or Shinra as a whole?" she asked, knowing that silence would just lead to getting hit.

"Ah, this is so great! You're such a hilarious little fucker," he replied, removing a rod from his jacket. He folded it out and it started spitting thunder magic. "Fun as this is, I have a deadline to meet. Now fess up and tell me where Fair and Strife are."

Ari sighed, defeated. She didn't owe either of them enough to keep her mouth shut for much longer. "Quick question, are you going to kill me after I talk? That would be crappy."

He shrugged. "Not me personally, but I can put in a good word against it. You wouldn't make a half bad Turk, with some training."

She rolled her eyes. "Was that supposed to be a compliment?"

He tapped the rod against his hand, the lightening doing nothing more to him than maintain his crazy hairstyle. "Yeah, the highest order of praise. Now quit stalling."

She turned to sit in a more comfortable position. "Five days ago Fair broke out of his tube. I didn't see how, all I saw was Johno get thrown around like a rag doll and then immediately killed," she began, hoping she would get to see the sun again after this.

* * *

Zack woke shortly before the sun rose and cranked up the aircon, knowing things were only going to get worse as the day went on. He had everything packed away and reasonably sand free by the time Cloud stirred.

"Hey, better put your seat up. We've got to get back on our way."

Cloud nodded and stretched before complying. He drank the rest of his water and ate the better half of a tin of strawberries before finally waking up properly. "I feel almost normal today."

"Good, I might only have to drive for seven hours today instead of fourteen!" He glanced back to the road before continuing. "Man, we need to get out of this wasteland today."

"We should be able to pull up in a forested area for the night," Cloud replied with a nod, after considering their speed and direction.

"Yeah, maybe, but I'm sure Shinra knows we've buggered off with one of their four-wheelers by now. We might just have to keep running toward Midgar for the next few days straight."

"_Midgar?_" Cloud asked, with evident distaste.

"Yeah, of course! They'll never find us right under their own noses in the biggest city in the world. Besides," he added with a sly sideways look, "I have a girl down there waiting for me to get back."

"Oh," Cloud said softly and looked away. Zack glanced at him and noticed he looked embarrassed. "But, um, it has been 4 years right? Who knows where she is and what she's doing now?"

"Nah, I have a good feeling she'll still be near that church somewhere. Don't worry man, you'll love Aerith and she'll love you!"

* * *

Zack reclined in the seat lazily while Cloud drove them to the forested area that was on the horizon. He dozed softly, never quite going to sleep, but not minding as long as he wasn't at the wheel. But of course, the peace couldn't last much longer.

His back became ramrod straight as something on the edge of hearing vied for his attention.

"Oh, shit!" he swore, watching the Turk copter rise over the horizon. "Stop the car, grab supplies! Hurry, before they blow everything into oblivion!" he yelled, squeezing through the gap in the front seats to get to the back ones.

Cloud braked sharply as ordered before leaping out of the vehicle and rushing around to open the back door. He loaded himself up with supplies as Zack did the same from inside. "_Stop running and surrender, and your lives will be assured,_" a female voice called over the PA.

Zack would bet all the water he could carry that the only reasons they hadn't been blown up yet were Tseng and Cissnei. Afterall, given the lack of troops, this had to be a patrol. They knew they couldn't take a pair of SOLDIERs alone, let alone whatever Hojo had done tho them over the past four years, so it would have been sensible to kill on sight.

Zack slid out of the back seat, putting the buster sword in place while carrying a backpack and multiple bags of tins and water bottles. "Go, go!" he yelled at Cloud as they sprinted away from both the car and the copter, without going back where they had come. Thankfully they soon discovered the forest stretched around in this direction too.

"You know where we are right, mountain boy? My sense of direction is already shot!"

"Follow me," Cloud replied, pulling ahead a little.

The copter fired bullets and Zack used the buster sword to protect them as best he could. He hissed as a bullet grazed his upper arm. A few shells bounced off Cloud's spaulders, barely missing Zack as they ricocheted. Cloud didn't even react to them.

They ran into thicker foliage and were able to slow down a little. Zack knew they were going to pull out the missiles sooner or later, so promptly offloaded his bags onto Cloud. They seemed to be too unwieldy rather than too heavy for him. What the hell had they _done_ to him?

"Head toward Midgar, I'll take out the copter," he said, pushing Cloud to the left.

"I can't just leave you out here Zack! Even if you do defeat that thing you might get lost," he said, looking around carefully. "For a start, Midgar is _that_ way."

Zack waved him off, unconcerned. "I'll be done in no time, it'll be fine."

Cloud set his jaw, stubborn as ever, and ran off into the forest toward an outcrop of rocks. Zack turned his attention back to the machine above him when a voice spoke. "_Last chance SOLDIERs, surrender now._"

"Fat chance!" Zack yelled, running to climb up the trunk of the tree closest to the Turks.

* * *

Cloud smiled, pleased with himself when he saw the rocks were indeed concealing a cave. He dumped his load just inside the entrance, in too much of a hurry to be any more cautious. He turned his attention back to the battle just in time to see the helicopter rise sharply as Zack tried to board it.

He ran back to the dark haired man, determined to put an end to the fight.

He scaled the tree Zack was now crouching at the top of with a single bound. The man turned in shock as Cloud took the buster sword from his hands and used his shoulders as a springboard.

"Hyaaah!" he yelled, moving much too fast for the pilot to react in time. He sliced through the tail end of the helicopter, removing its back end entirely. He had a brief moment of terror when it looked like the still rotating main blades were going to fall on his head.

Zack grabbed him as he leaped past, changing the direction of his fall so they would both be safe. The helicopter fell behind them, crashing into the trees. Zack took the sword back and cautiously stalked over to the cockpit.

He breathed a sigh of what sounded like relief before running both of the passengers through.

"Next time there'll be more backup. Or they're on the way. Let's get the hell out of here," Zack said as he turned back to Cloud.

Cloud shook and swallowed nervously, looking at the blood that had splattered Zack below his knees. Now that he was coming down from the adrenaline, he was thinking rationally again.

"Come on!" he exclaimed in his drill sergeant voice, using his hand to guide Cloud into walking alongside him. "We can't stop now!"

Cloud let his body and instincts take over. Following the orders of his superior was easier than thinking right now.

He led Zack to the cave so they could pick up their supplies, and they continued on their way through the forest.

Zack jumped down from the top of the tree, grinning at his companion. "Nearly there now. Let's eat up so we don't have to drag all this round tomorrow."

Cloud nodded slowly, glad for the distraction. Zack sat next to him while they ate, and Cloud found it natural to press himself into his side.

Zack put the tin he was holding down as he wrapped an arm around his shoulders. "You did well today. Looks like it was a good thing you came back to help. And it looks like you're even stronger than what Ho-jerk expected," he said.

Cloud curled in on himself. "Yeah, I could have torn that helicopter apart with my bare hands," he admitted in a shaky voice.

Zack glanced down sympathetically. "I guess we'll find out what else you're capable of before long. Until then, just rest."


	3. Chapter 3

Zack and Cloud had managed to reduce their supplies to fit into two backpacks over the last 38 hours. They were now planning out how they would sneak into Midgar. If they were spotted entering the city, it would make life a hell of a lot more difficult.

The thick walls towered above them, and the plate hovered above that. Mako smog pumped into the air.

"Well," Zack said with a shrug, "I vote we run up the wall and jump over."

Cloud gave him an incredulous look before remembering that he probably was actually capable of that now. "Don't laugh if I fall down."

Zack ruffled his hair. "What else would I do? You can probably survive a fall from the very top easily."

Cloud grimaced and swatted Zack's hand away. "Fine, I'll go first." He walked up to the wall, glancing around nervously. He grabbed the straps of his pack before sprinting as fast as he could.

He slipped, recovered, slipped, and then recovered once more before suddenly finding himself at the top of the wall. A guard approached him, gun held up cautiously. Cloud panicked, realising how much noise he must have just made.

He dived forward and rolled, coming up to punch the guard in the throat long before he had a chance to pull the trigger. He stepped back with a hand over his mouth as the man fell back, his throat now permanently caved in.

Zack stood next to him, breathing heavily. The trip had been rather more taxing for him. "Cloud, it's ok, just breathe." He patted his back reassuringly.

"I wasn't even trying to kill him!" he choked out.

"We would've had to one way or another. I'll take care of his partner in the watch tower. You get changed into his uniform in the meantime."

Cloud grimaced but nodded, realising the disguise would be the best way to hide no matter his personal feelings. He knelt as Zack jogged away, sliding the helmet off his victim's head. He was relieved it wasn't anyone he knew.

"Sorry," he muttered as he stripped the man down to his soiled underwear. "I would cover you with my SOLDIER uniform, but I'll probably have to dispose of that too."

Zack came back with a body slung over his shoulder. The man's neck was clearly broken, since a bloody death would have ruined the uniform. Cloud shuddered, but knew they would have to take this attitude for a bit longer if they wanted to survive.

Once they were both adequately disguised, Zack charged up his newly acquired Fira materia. He sighed and cancelled the spell, letting the energy dissipate. "They don't deserve this, and Shinra probably already expects us to be in Midgar somewhere."

He moved the SOLDIER uniforms to the side and released a spell upon them instead. Zack took the blanket out of his bedroll and covered the men with it. "Someone will find you in the morning."

He turned to Cloud, who hadn't seen him look so grave since the Angeal incident. "We'll have to sprint across town really quick, sticking to rooftops. I don't want anyone to see us with the buster sword or all these supplies. The church isn't far from here, and from there we can run to any number of places."

Cloud nodded, glad to have the familiar weight of a standard issue Shinra rifle in his hands. He had several grenades and a nightstick, as well as an ID card. He glanced at it quickly, noting the name and rank. "Sorry, Sebastian," he said again.

"Yeah, go haunt Shinra, not us Lachlan," Zack added before observing the route they would have to take. "All right, it's not that far. Just look out for Turks. We'll dump our stuff in one of the junk piles down there before going into the church. As if anyone can steal the buster sword, and we can live without the rest of the rations if we have to."

They jumped down from one roof to another, not hitting ground level until they could see the church in the distance. They dumped their things under a pile of old rusted plate supports before casually making their way toward the church.

"Here we go!" Zack whispered. He raced up the stairs, grinning like a fool when he saw the candles were lit. A long-haired man stepped out of the shadows as they approached, frowning at them. Cloud's heart thumped as he recognised the Turk uniform, glad his helmet was covering his recognisable features.

"What are you two doing down here?" he asked coolly.

"Lachlan and Sebastian reporting for duty sir! Professor Hojo wants another sample of the flowers that mysteriously grow down here." Cloud was impressed by Zack's ability to bluff out his ass.

A brown haired woman wearing a long pink dress approached them, her hands clasped together. "Oh, you two are back!" she said, smiling sincerely.

The dark haired man looked surprised by her cordial greeting. She grabbed one of each of their hands and led them along, winking at Zack when her back was turned to the Turk.

"You can leave if you need to Tseng, these two can escort me home before taking the samples to Hojo," she called back.

"Very well then. Someone will be back in the morning, as usual," he informed her formally before leaving.

She knelt in the flowers for some time, looking busy. Eventually she stood and turned back to them. "All right, they're gone now," she said brightly.

Zack obviously trusted her judgement, removing his helmet straight away. "How did you know?" he demanded.

She just giggled and flung her arms around his neck. "I never really told you about why the Turks have such an interest in my wellbeing, did I? Well, I'm more connected to the planet than most people," she said by way of explanation.

Zack dropped the helmet, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her in close. Their kiss was short and sloppy, full of passion. Cloud blushed and turned away, feeling like an intruder.

She breathed heavily when they parted, and Cloud noticed Zack was crying. Aerith gasped for breath. "Let up a bit please," she said, tugging on his arm.

"Sorry, we don't know our own strength," he said, glancing back at Cloud. He hung his head and turned away from them again. "Oh get over here," Zack said, dragging him into the middle of their hug.

"I don't _try_ to destroy everything I touch," Cloud muttered, half his face squished against Zack's weapon harness. He blushed when he felt Aerith's arm around his shoulders.

"Well hi there," she said.

Zack removed his helmet so he could ruffle his hair, laughing at his shyness. "This is Cloud. I think he would like to learn white magic some time."

Cloud glanced up at him in surprise. He hadn't had that thought at all. But now that the suggestion was out there, it seemed like a great idea. If he could fix the things he broke, well…

"Oh, how exciting! Come back to my place and I'll give you some of my baby materia."

"Before that, can you find us some different clothes?" Zack asked. "We kind of had to kill people to get these, and we're at risk of attracting Shinra's attention right now."

"Oh Zack," Aerith gasped, looking disappointed in them. Zack hung his head in shame. "We need to get out of here, then. The Turks probably won't be fooled again."

"Right then, we'll go find a busy dive to hang around in for the next two hours. We'll meet you at the train station then, ok?"

"All right," she agreed. "What sizes should I look for?"

* * *

Zack and Cloud wandered around outside for longer than they had hoped. Every bar they went into only attracted negative attention to them, and made things difficult until one of the staff would timidly ask them to leave. No one in the slums liked Shinra that much.

They moved into sector seven, noticing things were much quieter here. Zack stared up at the sign reading 7th Heaven for some time, remembering the carpenter that had asked him to name the place. He shrugged. "Maybe we can agree to leave this one in exchange for dinner?"

Cloud shrugged in return, looking amused as he followed Zack inside. The place had seemed about to close from the outside, and inside there weren't all that many patrons. Then again, it was probably a week day. Neither of them had any idea.

The bell above the door rang, signalling their entry. "Welcome to Seventh Heaven! I'll be with you in just a mo-" the muscular and beautiful barmaid trailed off when she glanced up from the drinks she was stirring to actually look at them.

Unlike the other places, half the patrons became visibly hostile. Zack went to turn on the charisma in an attempt to get them a feed before the barmaid asked them to leave.

Cloud walked toward her, ignoring Zack's questioning look. "Tifa?" he asked quietly, leaning on the bar.

Zack did the biggest double take of his life. This was the same young girl from back then? When he stopped to look he realised it was the same face, if a little older and more angular now. And her, er, 'body type' had changed quite a lot.

She glared at them now, glancing at the exit and then between them.

"It's me, Cloud," he explained.

She reached under the bar and pulled out a big stick. Cloud took half a step back, worried. Tifa beat it on the bar top to get everyone's attention. "All right you lot, clear out!"

There was a grumble, but the regulars seemed to be used to the place suddenly closing for no apparent reason. The dishes were piled up on the bar and everyone left quickly.

"What are you doing here? H-how are you here?" she hissed when they were alone.

Before Cloud could answer, a large man came through the door behind the bar. "These dudes giving you trouble Tif?" he asked, making no effort to cover the gun that replaced his hand.

"No," she said faintly, "I know one of them."

Zack raised his helmet enough to reveal his face and winked. "Two of them!"

The large man nodded and Tifa slipped out from behind the bar. The three of them approached the pinball machine, and the two SOLDIERs started as the platform sank into the ground.

They sat down in a corner and Tifa took a deep breath and gripped the edge of the table. It creaked from the strain. "_Explain…"_

They both removed their helmets now that they were out of sight. "We've been stuck in the Shinra Mansion's basement for the last four years," Cloud said quietly, getting straight to business as he knew Tifa would want. "The town has been reconstructed, but I doubt I'd recognise anyone who lives there now."

She put her hands over her mouth at the news, and Cloud noticed the multi-coloured bruises on her knuckles and wrists. Tifa had been training hard since that day.

"Oh gods, if I had known I would've found a way to get you out before leaving for Midgar."

"There was no way you could have known," Cloud said, resting his cheek on his hand. "I guess by coming straight to Midgar, we're using the same tactic they did to hide us."

"So, were you also 'enhanced'?" Tifa asked, reaching for his hand.

Cloud pulled away nervously, too paranoid of harming anyone to touch them. "Yeah, more than anyone else," he replied, then glanced away and became silent.

"Well, you defeated Sephiroth _without_ enhancements, of course you're boss," Zack added, trying to lighten the mood a little. "Lucky I'm tough enough to keep up with ya!"

Zack flipped open his PHS and saw the two hours were almost up. He wasn't really surprised that Shinra's technology had survived the mako tank, but he was surprised that the battery was still going. Leaving it on the dash during the trip here must have charged up the solar cells nicely.

He also finally noticed he had more than 120 messages in his inbox.

Tifa shifted uneasily and he almost turned to comfort her, until a message popped up on his hand set. The sender was Kunsel, due to the bad phone reception down here, 24 minutes ago.

"What's wrong?" Cloud asked, noticing Zack was suddenly on the edge of his seat.

He opened the message with trepidation.

_Zack, what the hell are you doing back in Midgar!? I'm heading over to the church Aerith hangs out in. Don't come back until I tell you the coast is clear!_

"Looks like an old friend of mine is tracking us." He glared at the PHS, suddenly wondering if Shinra could track him with it. "The two hours are nearly up, let's get going."

Tifa glanced up, face full of worry as they made their way to the exit. She pulled the switch as they put their helmets back on, and they went back up to the ground floor.

"Oi!" Barret called, as a young girl put two paper bags up on the bar. "I'm assuming you'll need this."

"All right, thanks man!" Zack exclaimed, quickly snatching the bags of food. "And thank you," he said to the girl before they left the premises.

They hurried back onto the train to meet Aerith at the station a few minutes late. Zack waved enthusiastically so they would know it was him under the helmet. She and another man boarded the train, and somehow she had got him to carry her luggage for her.

Zack grinned at the man, barely recognising him. He had only seen Kunsel out of full SOLDIER uniform about twice, and that had been four years ago. Still, he was cautious. If Kunsel was actually still with Shinra, then there was more than just his own hide on the line.

They moved into a crowded and noisy carriage to avoid being overheard. They shared around the food as Aerith showed them the clothes she had found. The overalls, baggy button up shirts and Breton caps meant to cover their hair were all typical slum attire. With these disguises, they could actually go look for jobs and do other normal activities.

"You two have got to be more careful!" Kunsel finally found a chance to scold them. Aerith nodded along sagely, before pausing to wink at Zack. "Man, I can't believe you made it back though. Why didn't you reply to me?"

"Couldn't trust anyone with Shinra," he said with a shrug. "Still can't."

"Understandable, but I don't work with them anymore."

Zack looked confused. "Didn't you have to sign a life service contract before getting the SOLDIER enhancements?"

Kunsel shrugged. "Without the Director, SOLDIER is no more. Most of us decided to flee before we could go down the same path I'm assuming you did; becoming test subjects."

"Except Luxiere, apparently," Zack muttered, thinking back to the 'plan' he had suggested. Something to the effect of getting a promotion if he could turn Zack in.

"Yes, well, some of us are smarter than others," he said, sounding unimpressed. Clearly he had heard about the 'offer' too. "Before I head off I should disable your PHS's ability to track you. One phone call and they'll know exactly where you are."

"Oh, you can do that? Great!" Zack replied enthusiastically. He handed over his handset at Kunsel's nod. He took it and awkwardly yet successfully used his lap as a work bench. "But aren't you already using it to track me?"

Kunsel snorted. "No, someone in my network saw the pair of you wandering around. Another found the buster sword buried in that pile of junk."

When he said no more about it, Aerith added, "I told Mum, what's going on so she won't worry about me too much. I know a hotel we can stay at if we get off in two stops. The Turks shouldn't find us in that area any time soon, so we should have a few days to sort ourselves out."

"Hmm, ok, but I'll need to go back for the buster sword some time," Zack said, nodding. It looked like their food and water would be gone by the time they got back. If it wasn't already.

"Oh, Kunsel already put it in the flower bed, so no one should touch it."

"Why _do_ the Turks keep an eye on you like that?" Cloud asked with a frown.

"Well…" She glanced away, considering her answer. "Jenova wasn't a real ancient, but I am," she said quickly, following it with a giggle.

"They still think they can use you to find the Promised Land?" Zack muttered, folding his arms.

"Oh, you know all about that huh? It seems like it."

Kunsel approached them. "All right, that should do it," he said, handing over the handset. "Stay in touch, hey? With my network in and out of Shinra, I can help you stay safe."

"Thanks Kunsel, I really appreciate your help," Zack said, pocketing the phone.

Kunsel looked embarrassed but nodded. "I'll see you all around."

He got off at the next station, leaving them to make the rest of the trip alone.

The streets were quiet when they left the train. Aerith held Zack's hand that wasn't toting her luggage, and Cloud walked slightly behind them. She turned and took his hand as well, ignoring his protests. "Even if you do manage to accidentally break my hand, I can fix it just like that!"

"I'd rather not get to that point in the first place," Cloud murmured, but lightly closed his hand anyway.

As they approached the hotel, Aerith dropped their hands. "Well, here we are. You might recognise the owners."

Zack tilted his head, confused. The woman behind the counter wasn't anyone he knew, he was sure of it. She glanced up and smiled at Aerith, looking worn out.

"It's odd to see you out so late, dear. Do you need to call your mother?" She glanced at the men in their faceless Shinra disguises warily.

A teenager moved past them, carrying a large box into the kitchen. He paused to glance at them. "Oh, hey Aerith. Long time no see. Zack write you back yet?"

Aerith glanced around before focusing for a minute. Deciding it was safe, she turned back to him and smiled. She pointed at Zack and nodded, who took the hint that it was safe to reveal his identity.

"Oh man, for real?" He turned to his mother excitedly. "Remember when you were in serious trouble with your sickness a few years ago, and I lost the wallet with our savings to a monster? This is the guy who got it back!"

The woman nodded slowly as the memory seemed to come back to her. "In that case, we owe you. You're all welcome to the small room upstairs for as long as you need."

"Huh? That was nothing, don't worry about it," he replied, waving his hands in front of his face. "Shinra is after us, so I'd feel bad for putting you out any longer than necessary."

"No, I insist. I would have died if my son hadn't been able to buy that medicine because of some stupid monster. Now get up there before someone sees you in here."

"Well, thanks," Zack mumbled as he put the helmet back on.

They bade her goodnight before heading upstairs. The three of them headed inside to find three futons rolled up against the wall. When they were out, it would be difficult to fit anything else in the room. Zack and Aerith arranged the bags by the door so they would take up as little space as possible.

Zack removed his helmet and weapons and embraced Aerith again. "What did he mean by write you back?" He pulled out his phone almost guiltily.

"I've been writing letters, hoping Tseng would get them to you. But it doesn't matter now."

"Of course it matters," he mumbled. "I remember basically hanging up on you the last time I was conscious. I can't imagine how you've felt over the last four years."

"Well," she said, pulling away. "I've had a chance to do a lot of growing up. I went above the plate all by myself," she said before turning back and laughing softly.

They closed the curtains and turned away from the centre of the room as they got changed. Zack cheered when he saw Aerith had also bought them clean underwear. "I'm so sick of stinking like mako!" he exclaimed as he threw a clean pair at the back of Cloud's head.

He flinched and turned to glare at him. "Thanks to your short term memory loss I've been commando this whole time!" he said with a blush before turning away again sharply.

"Heh, sorry," he replied, trying not to laugh. "Well, sleep well all," he added, flopping onto the middle futon in his underpants.

Cloud curled up on one side similarly dressed, and Aerith sprawled out on the other, the only one of them who had pyjamas. "Good night!"


End file.
